[Is this guy secretly aware of the deeper pairing rules and deliberately teamed up with me?]
Although she maintained a smile on her face, Kushida Kikyo was actually gritting her teeth, inwardly cursing Yamauchi Haruki.
'It's just a coincidence...'
Saiki glanced at Kushida Kikyo out of the corner of his eye, unsure of what to say. He could only sigh inwardly.
[If I'm paired with Yamauchi Haruki, my future actions will be restricted. It'll also be more troublesome to meet with Ryuen.]
[And in this exam, the two partners are essentially bound by fate. If one of them gets expelled, the other will be expelled too... Damn it, that means I can't use other methods to get Yamauchi expelled during this exam.]
[Is all of this... part of his plan?]
'It's really just a coincidence...'
"Kushida-san, we're in the same group! Let's do our best together!"
Meanwhile, Yamauchi Haruki, completely oblivious, waved at Kushida Kikyo with an excited smile on his face.
[The heavens are really favoring me! How lucky!]
Yamauchi Haruki was overjoyed.
"Yes, let's do our best, Yamauchi-kun..."
Kushida Kikyo's smile was stiff.
[Is this guy mocking me?]
Kushida Kikyo's anger grew even more intense.
'Yare yare...'
Saiki knew very well that Yamauchi Haruki was in for a rough future, but it was his own fault.
Right now, Saiki was more concerned about who his own partner would be.
Saiki—Karuizawa Kei.
'Yare yare, it's Karuizawa...'
Saiki felt a bit resigned. While he had avoided being paired with the troublesome Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, he still ended up with someone whose personality clashed with his.
[I didn't get paired with Saiki? So close... Instead, I'm with Ayanokoji!]
A familiar voice echoed in Saiki's mind. It belonged to Sato Maya.
[I didn't... get paired with Kusuo-kun...]
Sakura Airi's thoughts also revealed her disappointment.
Their grades weren't particularly good, which put them in the range of being paired with Saiki. However, in the end, Saiki was paired with Karuizawa Kei.
"Kusuo, looks like we're in the same group again!"
Karuizawa Kei smiled brightly and waved at Saiki. The eyes of everyone in the class turned to him.
"Yeah."
Saiki didn't like being the center of attention, but he nodded at Karuizawa Kei.
Being paired with Karuizawa Kei was a relatively acceptable outcome.
"The current pairings are mostly in line with what we expected."
After finalizing the pairings, Horikita Suzune continued,
"From now until the final exams, we'll be holding study sessions to improve the class's average scores. This time, we can collaborate with Hirata or Kushida, so I'm thinking of holding two sessions a day. The first session will be from 4 to 6 PM after school, and the second session will be from 8 to 10 PM to accommodate those in club activities. Now, we need to decide who will attend which session."
'Damn it, more study sessions?'
Saiki felt a bit helpless. The study sessions would inevitably eat into his free time, but he couldn't skip them. It was such a hassle.
While everyone was discussing the study sessions, two people approached Horikita Suzune and Hirata Yosuke.
Miyake Akito and Hasebe Haruka—two students Saiki hadn't interacted with much.
Neither of them had a strong presence in the class. Saiki knew Miyake Akito was decent at sports, but he didn't know much about Hasebe Haruka.
"Miyake, is there something you need?"
Hirata Yosuke immediately turned his attention to Miyake Akito. He remembered that Miyake Akito and Hasebe Haruka were paired together.
"We're in the same group for the exam, but our strengths and weaknesses overlap. It's a bit of a headache, so we wanted to ask for your advice."
Miyake Akito explained.
Although they were paired together, their academic abilities were similar, and their strengths and weaknesses overlapped significantly. This meant they couldn't help each other much. To improve their scores, the study sessions would need to cover a broader range of topics.
However, expanding the scope of the study sessions would significantly increase the workload, and with more people involved, efficiency would likely drop.
"Also, can I skip the study sessions?"
At that moment, Hasebe Haruka spoke up.
"I probably won't attend. I don't really get along with Ichihashi-san and the others."
'Ichihashi? Who's that? Does our class even have someone by that name?'
Saiki tried to match the name "Ichihashi" with a face but couldn't.
"Besides, group study sessions aren't really my thing."
"But if your weaknesses are so similar, even if you pass the overall score, you might still fall below the minimum 60 points required for each subject."
Horikita Suzune immediately spoke up, her expression serious.
"That's true, but this method still doesn't suit me. Sorry, Miyake."
Hasebe Haruka seemed to use a nickname for Miyake Akito, then turned and left.
"Sorry, if it's just girls around, I won't be motivated to study. I won't be attending the study sessions either."
Seeing his partner leave, Miyake Akito also expressed his thoughts to Horikita Suzune and Hirata Yosuke.
'If only Yamauchi had half your self-awareness.'
[What should we do? If only someone else could tutor them separately.]
At that moment, Horikita Suzune's mind raced as she recalled the subjects Miyake Akito and Hasebe Haruka struggled with.
Saiki suddenly had a bad feeling and quickly turned to leave.
But at that moment, Horikita Suzune's gaze shifted to Saiki's back.
"Saiki, I remember you did pretty well in this subject before."
During the last semester's study sessions, Horikita Suzune had prepared practice questions for everyone. Due to various coincidences, Saiki had accidentally solved some of the more difficult problems, leading Horikita Suzune to believe he was particularly strong in those subjects.
And, as luck would have it, those subjects were the ones Miyake Akito and Hasebe Haruka struggled with.
'Damn it, I've been caught!'
Saiki inwardly complained, then reluctantly turned back.
"Not really."
"I remember you solved some extremely difficult problems before. If we leave them to you, it should be more than enough."
"Wait, Kusuo, you're that good?"
Karuizawa Kei, sitting nearby, widened her eyes in surprise.
"I didn't agree to this..."
"Then it's settled, Saiki. Thank you for your hard work."
Horikita Suzune didn't give Saiki any chance to refuse.
"Besides, they're good at the subjects you're not so strong in. It's a good match."
"..."
Saiki felt helpless. High school-level knowledge was no challenge for him. He had deliberately kept some of his scores low to maintain a middle-of-the-pack position in the class.
But now, he was being dragged into this mess because of it.
"Really? If it's Saiki, then I'm fine with it. I'll let Hasebe-san know later."
Miyake Akito said seriously to Saiki.
'Hey, hey, hey, I never agreed to this!'
Saiki inwardly screamed, but it was too late. Miyake Akito had already left the classroom.
"Also, Miyake and Hasebe seem like the type who prefer to work alone. I'm a bit worried, and Saiki isn't exactly the best at communication either."
As Horikita Suzune spoke, she rubbed her chin, deep in thought. Then, her gaze shifted to Ayanokoji Kiyotaka.
"Ayanokoji, can I ask you to assist Saiki?"
"Assist?"
"You and Saiki get along well, right? It might be difficult to communicate with Miyake or Hasebe, but if you're the intermediary, it should be easier for us to coordinate."
Horikita Suzune spoke very seriously.
'Having Ayanokoji help with communication? Are you serious? And why can't I escape this guy?'
Saiki glanced at Ayanokoji Kiyotaka out of the corner of his eye, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka glanced back.
"Sure."
...
The next day after school, Saiki arrived at the school café as agreed with the others in his group.
Hasebe Haruka, Miyake Akito, and Ayanokoji Kiyotaka were already there.
Putting aside Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, who was always hiding his true self, Hasebe Haruka and Miyake Akito were both quiet types, which suited Saiki just fine. They wouldn't cause any trouble.
However, the problem wasn't with them.
At that moment, there were a few unexpected guests in the café.
"Kusuo! I ordered your favorite coffee pudding in advance!"
Karuizawa Kei waved at Saiki with a smile as he arrived.
"Why are you here?"
Saiki looked at Karuizawa Kei in confusion. The only empty seat at the table was next to her, whether by her design or because the others assumed Saiki would sit there.
According to the original plan, the study session was supposed to include only him, Ayanokoji Kiyotaka, Miyake Akito, and Hasebe Haruka.
'I guess I have to sit there.'
Saiki sighed inwardly. His eyes fixed on the pudding, he eventually sat down next to Karuizawa Kei.
'There's no other seat available. It's not like I'm easily swayed by pudding or anything!'
"Hey! We're in the same group, right? And my grades aren't great, so I need to study too!"
Karuizawa Kei smiled at Saiki.
Saiki felt helpless and turned his gaze to the person sitting across from him—
Sato Maya.
"Why are you here?"
"Because I'm in the same group as Ayanokoji-kun! Yesterday, I heard Ayanokoji-kun was going to hold a study session with you, so as his partner, I naturally had to come too."
Sato Maya smiled brightly.
"Nice to meet you!"
As Sato Maya spoke, her gaze shifted to Karuizawa Kei.
Karuizawa Kei also smiled back at her.
[Of course, I'm here for Saiki!]
[Of course, I'm here for Kusuo!]
Their thoughts were almost identical.
Saiki sighed. He knew this study session was going to be another disaster for him—
And to make matters worse, there were more unexpected guests.
[Kusuo-kun... is holding a study session...]
[I didn't expect Karuizawa-san and Sato-san... to be here too... Did Kusuo-kun invite them...? No... they probably came on their own...]
[I want to join too... but I'm too shy to ask Kusuo-kun directly... I'll just stay nearby...]
This voice belonged to Sakura Airi.
At that moment, Sakura Airi was sitting at the table next to Saiki and the others.
Even without telepathy, Saiki noticed Sakura Airi's presence because she kept glancing over at them.
[That's Sakura, right? Has she been following us?]
Not only Saiki, but even the highly observant Ayanokoji Kiyotaka noticed Sakura Airi's presence.
Sakura Airi, who had once been troubled by a stalker, had now, in a way, become something similar herself.